The countdown to Halloween is on, and while this annual event is one that most kids look forward to all year, many of them face barriers that make door-to-door trick-or-treating a challenge.
More than 400,000 Canadian kids live with accessibility issues that make navigating staircases, steep or long driveways, narrow pathways, strobe lights, loud noises and crowded front entrances problematic. There are some simple things you can do to remove these barriers and “make Halloween accessible to everyBODY.”
In fact, that’s the tag line of Treat Accessibly, a movement that aims to drive household awareness of accessibility issues, and encourages homeowners to make small changes on Halloween that will make a big difference to a lot of people.
6 Tips to Make Your Home Accessible on Halloween
1. Post your Treat Accessibly lawn sign. About a week before Halloween (so… NOW) post an Accessible Trick or Treat lawn sign on your front lawn. This will alert people that you’ll be handing out treats from an accessible area, such as the foot of the driveway.
You can get your free lawn sign from a participating RE/MAX office, available while supplies last. Click this link to find a RE/MAX office near you. You can also download and print your own sign, available at this link.
2. Illuminate your property. Ensure pathways and areas where people will be walking are well-lit. Turn on exterior lights and replace any burned-out light bulbs.
3. Clear pathways and the driveway. Remove tripping hazards and obstacles, such as decorations, extension cords, garden hoses, piles of leaves, snow and ice. Move the car out of the driveway to make way for trick-or-treaters.
4. Set up an accessible trick-or-treating table/station. Consider placing it at the foot of the driveway, the garage entrance with the door open, or out of your vehicle’s trunk.
6. Refrain from using strobe lights and sudden, high-pitched, sound effects. These can trigger a negative physical and/or emotional response in some people. If you choose to include them in your Halloween display, considering using a manual setting that can be turned on for trick-or-treaters you know, who won’t have a negative reaction to them.
6. Keep pets indoors. Regardless of how friendly or well-trained, ensure Fido and Fifi are safely away from the front of the house.
In 2021, RE/MAX Canada is proud to partner with Kinder® to support the Treat Accessibly movement, now in its fourth year. In the last two years, more than 40,000 homeowners in Canada have picked-up a Treat Accessibly sign to support the movement for accessible trick-or-treating for all. To learn more, visit www.treataccessibly.com
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